SHORT-COURSE OFF-ROAD TRUCK RACING HITS TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

FORT WORTH, Texas (April 23, 2015) - The high-flying action of short-course off road truck racing hits The Dirt Track at Texas Motor Speedway for a season opening doubleheader this weekend for TORC: The Off-Road Championship, presented by AMSOIL. Races take place this Friday and Saturday evening, with gates opening at 6 p.m. and opening ceremonies at 7:30 p.m. each night.

>"We're excited to open our national championship season at the Dirt Track at Texas Motor Speedway," said TORC series president BJ Birtwell. "This is the perfect venue for our kind of fender-to-fender, no mercy, no surrender truck racing action."

The TORC season opener promises the best truck racers in the world fighting it out in 900 hp machines on a track built for action with whoops, big jumps and steeply banked turns. Entry to the race is offered at $5 for active and retired military personnel who present a valid military ID at the ticket window. Regular tickets are just $20 at the gate or $15 if purchased in advance online at www.torcseries.com/tickets.

In addition to opening the 2015 championship season this weekend, the series and its partners will be racing in support of the upcoming Chris Kyle Memorial Benefit with a special series of TORC events.

Back-to-back NASCAR Truck Series champion Matt Crafton makes a guest appearance in the series to race the Chris Kyle Memorial Benefit PRO 4WD truck, sponsored by KMC Wheels and AMSOIL. He won the NASCAR Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway last summer.

"To drive the Chris Kyle Memorial Benefit PRO 4WD truck for Chris Kyle is an honor," said Crafton. "I met Chris' parents Wayne and Deby today and they are an amazing family. I'm grateful for the opportunity to support them in raising funds for a cause Chris cared so much about."

In addition to the celebrity race entry, Chris' father Wayne Kyle will be the Grand Marshal. A Chris Kyle Memorial Benefit booth at the track will give fans an opportunity to donate to the foundation.

"It's fantastic," said Wayne Kyle on Thursday. "If you know much about veterans, you know they're race fans and being here really fits what we're working to do."

The Chris Kyle Memorial Benefit is raising funds for the Guardian for Heroes Foundation -- a charity that supports veterans with disabilities, Gold Star families and those suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder. Kyle was a decorated U.S. Navy SEAL and the subject of the Oscar nominated film American Sniper. He died in 2013. This year's benefit, organized by his family, is the second held in his memory.